Austin Texas is going BAG-less- as of Tomorrow! -The Austin City Council has approved a ban on disposable plastic & paper bags at checkout counters for retailers. Reusable bags that are allowed include those made of cloth, durable materials or thicker paper and some types of larger plastic bags with handles (deemed reusable). ADVICE: How to prepare. Gather all those bags you already have and put them in easily accessible locations- your car, your bike bag, your purse- so youíll never be without one. If you donít have any reusable bags, get some from your favorite store or farmers market...Itís always nice to have a small foldable bag that you can keep in your purse or pocket, so you wonít have to panic if and when you forget your bags (itís bound to happen.) Youíll also want to make sure to wash your bags on a regular basis, avoiding food contaminants. Moving away from single-use bags is happening internationally. In some African countries. Italy, with France following suit by 2014. In other countries (Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Taiwan and some cities in India) plastic bags are taxed. Here in the US, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Brownsville, Texas have implemented versions of bag bans or specific bag-related taxes. ARTICLE PHOTO-- GOAL? ZERO-WASTE!http://in.gredients.com/2013/01/31/the-end-of-paper-or-plastic-in-austin/Austin Texas is going BAG-less- as of Tomorrow! -The Austin City Council has approved a ban on disposable plastic & paper bags at checkout counters for retailers. Reusable bags that are allowed include those made of cloth, durable materials or thicker paper and some types of larger plastic bags with handles (deemed reusable).

ADVICE: How to prepare. Gather all those bags you already have and put them in easily accessible locations- your car, your bike bag, your purse- so youíll never be without one. If you donít have any reusable bags, get some from your favorite store or farmers market...Itís always nice to have a small foldable bag that you can keep in your purse or pocket, so you wonít have to panic if and when you forget your bags (itís bound to happen.) Youíll also want to make sure to wash your bags on a regular basis, avoiding food contaminants.

Moving away from single-use bags is happening internationally. In some African countries. Italy, with France following suit by 2014. In other countries (Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Taiwan and some cities in India) plastic bags are taxed. Here in the US, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Brownsville, Texas have implemented versions of bag bans or specific bag-related taxes.

Yes , we just had a visit to Taiwan.Went to the super-market.Did not know we had to bring our own bags...They charge 2-5 cents for a very small bag or you can get a cardboard box .Very good .everyone should implement this.

There have been some problems in going without plastic bags in supermarkets which include disease, as the cloth bags are not always washed and also a large increase in the sale of other legal plastic bags to act in the manner that recycled store bags where used which include putting garbage in; wrapping foods bound for the freezer to prevent freezer burn and many other little jobs that bags do. I have rental units, for example and when painting them with a paint roller the roller is put in a plastic shopping bag if it will be used the next day or even a few days later. It is kept fresh and useable for the same paint color. This is just one of the many ways that bags are used and people would have to find replacements. On our beaches here after picking up trash for a few years I find many plastics but not too many plastic shopping bags.

No doubt that the movement to not use bags is well meaning and we could certainly use less plastic in the environment but a better solution would be through science and biodegradable bags. Some exist today but are cost prohibitive. I would rather have a move in this direction which would eventually lead to even more plastics made to these specifications which would leave the environment in much better shape over the long term.

We used cloth bags in NC for years prior to moving here and never had a problem -- just had to remember to bring 'em with us to the store!

I agree that plastic bags can be reused and are quite handy for other uses. I use them all the time to pick up dog poop, for instance. But how many actually do get reused? Probably not as many as we'd like to think.

Yes, you are correct on these points and I understand fully. The problem is that plastic bags are so basic that outlawing them in certain locals is just not going to work. In addition just like you said it is a convenience matter because you always don't have a cloth bag with you.

The matter of the bags carrying disease is all by how often you launder the bag. E coli were reported in several samples in one study.

In conclusion I believe that a better solution would be a reasonably priced biodegradable bag. The outlawing of plastic bags is like a grain of sand on the beach compared to the problem of plastics. OK maybe half dozen grains.

In conclusion I believe that a better solution would be a reasonably priced biodegradable bag. The outlawing of plastic bags is like a grain of sand on the beach compared to the problem of plastics. OK maybe half dozen grains.

That would be an improvement, to be sure, but because most landfills are packed too tightly for biodegradation to occur, not a perfect solution either:

We never got sick from our cloth bags, and we didn't wash them frequently. Maybe we were just lucky, but I tend to think that objection to them is a bit overblown.

Where we shopped, there were always plastic and paper bags available for those who forgot or chose not to bring cloth/other bags. Some places would give a tiny discount if you brought your own bag, which I liked.

That would be an improvement, to be sure, but because most landfills are packed too tightly for biodegradation to occur, not a perfect solution either:

The last 7 or so years of my working life was visiting generating sites all over the State Iím from and at least 3 or 4 of these were landfills. I'm no expert on landfills but they make a lot of methane gas which powers diesel generators around the clock at the landfills I visited. I thought it was fairly standard to have these facilities at landfills. If they are producing this gas something must be happening below the soil.

Iíve also been to a few very large waste to energy plants and they are the answer to full landfills and the problems that come with landfills. They meet current EPA standards and salvage all metal and such. As long as they are on a large piece of property with no homes nearby I donít see why there arenít more of them. In addition they make money and employee a lot of people at some pretty fair wages.